Skills Matter – up-skilling across construction stakeholders for emerging roles

The EU’s Climate Target Plan To 2030 (European Union 2020b) of achieving at least 55% reduction in Green House Gas emissions from 1990 levels, delivering towards a climate-neutral economy by 2050, requires systems-level change in the way we design, construct, and operate our built assets. Funding initiatives, such as co-ordinated by BUILD UP Skills, aim to deliver upskilling to the market but targets set by the European Skills Agenda may not be reached at current achievement levels. This paper presents the results of one completed and the progress of one ongoing Horizon 2020 funded project, BIMcert and ARISE, respectively. Learning from both projects demonstrate that bite-sized (micro-credential), justin- time, recognised training that is supported by digital platforms, gamification, and quality face-to-face interventions have the potential to support better delivery toward delivery against climate targets. Additional focused initiatives targeted at attracting school-leavers, at increasing female and diverse participation in the sector, and at retraining the aging workforce are proposed as potential ways to broaden the impact of the projects described in the research.